ISPIM Connects Nanjing: Constructing an Innovation City

ISPIM invites researchers, managers, executives and consultants, with a passion for innovation management, to our conference in Nanjing, the ancient capital of six dynasties in China’s history, that is now the economic centre of the Yangtze River Delta and a vital port city in eastern China. “Entrepreneurship and innovation” have become familiar words for Nanjing citizens since the Nanjing Development Zone embarked on its pioneering journey in 1992. Nanjing ranks 11th in World Economic Forum’s JLL City Momentum Index 2018: the world’s top 20 most dynamic cities, and 3rd in the United Nations Development Programme’s China Urban Sustainable Development Report 2016: Measuring Ecological Investment and Human Development. In 2018, the Nanjing Municipal Government published "Several Policy Measures on Building an Innovation City with Global Influence", that has resulted in a city-wide effort to build a "Renowned Innovation City" with global influence, with goals of constructing comprehensive science centres and science and technology industrial innovation centres. The “Nanjing Entrepreneurship Plan” was announced in 2016 to build an economy based on innovation and service industry, featuring openness and environmental friendliness. The plan aims to attract 100 leading technology experts and 3000 high-end entrepreneurial talents, nurture 200 innovative entrepreneurs, and coach 20000 college students in their start-up programs. It will thus build an innovation incubator cluster with distinctive advantages and far-reaching global impact. Nanjing’s innovation is coupled with the concept of green and sustainable development. Everywhere, the streets are lined with trees, picturesque plazas decorated with beautiful landscapes, classic and elegant parks, and environmentally-friendly and low-carbon garden-like enterprises.